It's highly unlikely that you'll find this hidden gem just wandering by chance, so here is what you need to know: Chef King Phojanakong owns and runs Kuma Inn, a Filipino-Thai eatery hidden behind a graffiti-tagged door and up a flight of stairs in the Lower East Side. Growing up, Phojanakong ate foods from both regions -- his mother is Filipino and his father is Thai -- and his restaurant seamlessly brings together the two Asian cuisines. The menu is always changing, and loaded with flavorful, innovative bites, like drunken spicy shrimp finished with sake, kalamnsi, and Thai chilies.

Kuma Inn

It's highly unlikely that you'll find this hidden gem just wandering by chance, so here is what you need to know: Chef King Phojanakong owns and runs Kuma Inn, a Filipino-Thai eatery hidden behind a graffiti-tagged door and up a flight of stairs in the Lower East Side. Growing up, Phojanakong ate foods from both regions -- his mother is Filipino and his father is Thai -- and his restaurant seamlessly brings together the two Asian cuisines. The menu is always changing, and loaded with flavorful, innovative bites, like drunken spicy shrimp finished with sake, kalamnsi, and Thai chilies.